Eternals Review

Marvel’s latest entry in their ever-expanding universe of superhero mythology goes cosmic with “The Eternals.”  We take a look at this newest chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with our review avoiding major spoilers, and informing you of whether you should watch it or not, and why.  Hint: we liked it…

Okay, first of all, get ready for a long ride. This film clocks in at two hours and 37 minutes. And that is not counting over 20 minutes of trailers before-hand (we mention the superhero trailers down below, after we talk Eternals).  So, is it worth the time?  

This is an expansive film.  We are introduced to ten new super-powered characters, and about 7,000  years of their history on Earth. Yes, seven millenia…Told you this was expansive!  The film begins in Mesopotamia in 5,000 BC, then settles into the present day, but contains multiple flashbacks that track our ten main characters throughout history and their long and equally convoluted relationships with each other.

Kirby’s Eternals

Based on the mid-1970s Marvel Comics title “The Eternals,” written and drawn by Jack Kirby, the movie follows the basic contours of original Kirby’s vision, with a few significant detours.  Overall, in our opinion, Kirby’s epic vision is maintained by this film.  Kirby had drawn previous characters from ancient mythology in the past, Thor, Odin, Loki, and the other Asgardians being the most obvious examples, but with the Eternals, we see him borrow names from various mythologies and adjust their names slightly to make them his own. The movie does the same.  We see Ikaris, Thena, Sersi, Gilgamesh, Makkari, Phastos, Druig, Kingo, Sprite, and Ajak, become both the world’s first superheroes, as well as become the founding characters in world mythology (Thena for Athena, Makkari for Mercury, Gilgamesh for, well, Gilgamesh, etc.).  

This tale is clearly set inside the greater MCU, as the Eternals at one point (and this was seen in an earlier trailer as well), discuss who can lead the Avengers now that Stark and Cap are gone, and the Thanos Snap and the Hulk Snap are both referred to in the movie.  Additionally, one of the two post-credits scenes also draws a clear line connecting the Eternals themselves and…someone else in the Marvel movie universe. Remember, we do not give out spoilers here…

There are vicious creatures called Deviants that the Eternals fight in multiple locations around the world, and a very big and deadly threat to the planet that they must overcome.  The action is top-notch, and there are a few surprises in terms of how some of these fights turn out for our ten protagonists.

Eternals Positives

Overall, the movie was fun to watch, and it was also satisfying to see the connections building between the Eternals and the rest of the MCU.  Plus, the other character (unnamed in this review due to, you know, spoilers) that we suspect will have a big role in future MCU projects, along with, possibly, his uncle!

As with pretty much all MCU projects, we see some major pop-culture references, but there were three in particular that made us pay attention.  We see a gratuitous plug for another Disney property, Star Wars, on a magazine cover in one scene. Ok, that was fun, but not terribly surprising given that Star Wars was mentioned at least twice in Captain America: Civil War.  But then we get two, count them, TWO references to…DC Comics superheroes. Nah, not going to mention who, but it was a very fun moment for this Marvel AND DC fan!

Eternals Criticisms

One big criticism of The Eternals is that, even for a movie that goes over two and a half hours, the sheer fact that we have ten main characters, a sidekick (loved that guy!), 7,000 years of backstory, and a lot of cosmic shenanigans to absorb, it is a lot for one movie.  But, Marvel/Disney probably figures most fans will end up with multiple rewatches of the film, either in the theater, or in a couple months on Disney Plus, and thus will be able to absorb and digest all of this information over time.  In addition to just the sheer number of main characters, they have quite a complex series of relationships, some platonic, some not, that are frankly, rather hard to follow in the context of this movie.  Even at over 2.5 hours, there is not enough time for the fan to really absorb who is who and how they connect to each other.

The Eternals may have been a better bet as a six to eight-hour Disney Plus MCU TV show, like WandaVision or Loki, but it turned out to be a cinematic release, and in that light, we still give it a very positive review.  Good story, good acting, nice mix of well-known and relatively new actors in the cast, excellent special effects, and good super-powered fight scenes, all combine to make this a fun ride, our criticisms mentioned above notwithstanding.

This marvel movie review of The Eternals recommends fans see it in theaters once, and then wait two to three months to see it again on Disney Plus.  If you are a fan of the MCU, you will want to see it in some fashion. 

Now, about those trailers:

Two superhero trailers preceded The Eternals in the theater we saw it in.  First, we see a trailer for a Sony/Marvel movie called “Morbius,” about a living vampire that needs blood, but is basically a good guy who is a hero. This trailer, as well as our knowledge of the character from Marvel Comics, has this review quite intrigued. Morbius is a character from Marvel Comics in the 1970s, back when Marvel was on a Horror genre kick (as in titles featuring Dracula, Ghost Rider, Werewolf by Night, etc.) and the title character is played by Jared Leto, which is ironic considering the other trailer was…

“The Batman”, with Robert Pattinson in the lead role as Batman/Bruce Wayne.  The irony is that Leto played the Joker in the last iteration of this DC franchise.  Overall the Morbius movie looked pretty interesting, while the Batman trailer left us asking “why reboot Batman already?”  Nothing in the Batman trailer (except maybe curiosity at how Riddler will be portrayed), looked particularly fresh or necessary. We shall see.

Go see Eternals. But be sure to use the restroom first…remember, two and a half hours of Marvel Cinematic Universe action awaits!

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